PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New teachers in the School District of Philadelphia reported to the School of the Future in West Philadelphia on Wednesday to begin a week of orientation.
800 new teachers were greeted by a drumline and cheers from administrators as they arrived.
"I'm excited for a new journey at the district," said Brittany Lutz, who starts as a reading teacher at Stephen Decatur Elementary School. She previously taught at both a charter and a Catholic school.
"I always wanted to be a teacher and that's what I've been doing for the last eight years," Lutz told KYW Newsradio.
Karenly Ramirez, a new dual-language teacher at Bayard Taylor Elementary School, looks forward to the challenge of teaching. "New kids, new opportunities, new changes I can do in their lives," she said.
Natalie Midiri used to teach at a charter school. This is her first year at the district. "I really believe in the mission of public education. It was really sort of a values-driven decision for me," Midiri said.
Superintendent Tony Watlington said with 95% of teaching positions currently filled, some headquarters staff will have to fill in when classes begin. "We'll have a few places at the beginning of the school year where we'll need to use some central office staff," Watlington told reporters. "We don't want to just put anybody in our classrooms. We want to put highly qualified, well-supported individuals in our classrooms."
Hiring, he said, will continue. "We could use more teachers. We're going to keep our foot on the gas between now and Aug. 26, which is the first day of school," Watlington said.
The superintendent said he wants new teachers to know that free mental health programs are available.
"We want them to know that they're going to have some good days, some great days, and days that won't be so great. We are going to place a focus this year on ensuring that our teachers and counselors are safe, that they're healthy and well," said Watlington.
"We want them to know that we are going to invest in them, we are going to support them and we are going to do everything in our power to retain them in the School District of Philadelphia."